Sports TV: Spurs-Rockets opener will be on TV, but it’s hard to get

Die-hard Spurs fans take note: Thursday’s preseason opener against the Rockets will be on TV, but it will be hard to get.

Fox Sports Net Houston will show San Antonio’s first game of the 2010-11 campaign from Houston at 7:30 p.m. The Rockets’ broadcast team of Bill Worrell (play-by-play) and Clyde Drexler (analyst) will call the game.

San Antonio viewers can get FSN Houston on DirecTV channel 678 and AT&T UVerse channels 755 (standard definition) and 1755 (high definition). Customers must subscribe to each system’s sports-tier package in order to view the regional sports network.

Dish Network viewers can’t get the game. Normally, they could but FSN Houston was one of the 19 regional FSN channels yanked from the satellite provider on Oct. 1 in a subscriber fee fight with parent company Fox Sports Networks.

While all 82 of the Spurs’ regular season games will be on TV, only three preseason games will be telecast.

Besides the opener, next Tuesday’s game vs. the Los Angeles Clippers from Mexico City will be on NBA TV at 8:30 p.m.

The third game shown will be the Spurs’ last preseason game — a rematch with Houston — at the AT&T Center at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21, again on FSN Houston.

If you can’t get to a TV, the game is on radio. Bill Schoening begins his 10th season as the Spurs’ radio voice. Thursday’s coverage begins at 7 p.m. with a half-hour pregame show on WOAI-AM 1200, followed by the game.